FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifying

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I'll construct my thing later, but my two main gambles are Chile beating out the Netherlands for 2nd and France winning E.

[GMantis]

Lots of deja vus this world cup. Six match-ups that happened last time (including Argentina - Nigeria for the fourth time) plus group H looking eerily like group H in 2002 (Russia, Belgium, an East Asian and a North African country).

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

WooHoo!

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

WooHoo!

The Onion nails it as usual.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

WooHoo!

The Onion nails it as usual.

Phil will probably unfriend me for posting this to his Facebook page.

[bore]

The England Italy game will be at 02:00 British Summer Time- it's a good thing I've finished school by then

[Keystone Phil]

Well, that was fun. I love that the debate is now "Will the U.S. even manage a point in the group?" I say maybe one against Ghana. Maybe.

I like Italy's draw. We do best in tougher groups and D is a nice challenge but not impossible. I'd say Groups E and H are jokes. Groups C and F should be fairly easy as well with the favorites being the clear favorites. Interesting fights for second place though.

What is most intriguing is the Round of 16 match ups for Groups A and B. Spain and The Netherlands obviously want to win to avoid Brazil but still face a tough task against Croatia or Mexico. There's really no up side for Group A runner up. And I think we'll see an early exit (for a team being so hyped as a dark horse) for Belgium in the Round of 16.

I noticed last night that there was a random 9 PM (Eastern) Group Stage match. Glad it's Italy vs. England but that sucks for Italians and English. I'll post further predictions later.

[Keystone Phil]

So for awhile, I've been saying Italy would beat Spain in the Quarter finals and Portugal in the Final. It's a bit of my ideal situation (which included beatings Brazil in the Semis but that isn't happening in my scenario) but also an honest prediction. My initial feeling was Group G would be tight with Germany emerging on top. However, I'm going to pick Portugal as an "upset pick" of sorts to win the group. This also helps them face us in the Final otherwise we'd meet in the Semis. 

Group A

Brazil
Croatia

Group B

Spain
The Netherlands

Group C

Colombia
Ivory Coast

Group D

Italy
England

Group E

France
Switzerland

Group F

Argentina
Nigeria

Group G

Portugal
Germany

Group H

Belgium
Russia

Round of 16

Brazil vs. The Netherlands
Colombia vs. England
France vs. Nigeria
Portugal vs. Russia
Spain vs. Croatia
Italy vs. Ivory Coast
Argentina vs. Switzerland
Belgium vs. Germany

Quarter finals

Brazil vs. England
France vs. Portugal
Spain vs. Italy
Argentina vs. Germany

Semi finals

Brazil vs. Portugal
Italy vs. Argentina

Final

Portugal vs. Italy

[King]

Wow, USA got screwed.

This is all Ted Cruz's fault.  The government shutdown eroded Blatter's confidence in the United States to follow through on its bribes.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Alright, going bold.


Group A

Brazil
Mexico

Group B

Spain
Chile

Group C

Colombia
Ivory Coast

Group D

Uruguay
Italy

Group E

France
Ecuador

Group F

Argentina
Nigeria

Group G

Germany
Portugal

Group H

Belgium
Russia

Round of 16

Brazil vs. Chile
Colombia vs. Italy
France vs. Nigeria
Germany vs. Russia
Spain vs. Mexico
Uruguay vs. Ivory Coast
Argentina vs. Ecuador
Belgium vs. Portugal

Quarter-finals

Brazil vs. Italy
France vs. Germany
Spain vs. Uruguay
Argentina vs. Portugal

Semi-finals

Brazil vs. Germany
Spain vs. Argentina

Finals

Brazil vs. Spain

Third place

Germany vs. Argentina

[NewYorkExpress]

my hopefully sane picks for WC 2014

Group A

Brazil
Cameroon

Group B
Spain
Netherlands

Group C
Greece
Japan

Group D
Italy
England

Group E
France
Honduras

Group F
Argentina
Nigeria

Group G
Germany
U.S.A

Group H
Belgium
Russia

Round of 16

Brazil def Netherlands
Spain def Cameroon
Greece def England
Italy def Japan
France def Nigeria
Argentina def Honduras
Germany def Russia
U.S.A def Belgium

QF
Spain def Italy
Argentina Def U.S.A
Brazil def Greece
Germany def France

SF
Brazil def Spain
Argentina def Germany

3rd place
Spain def Germany

F
Brazil def Argentina

[Platypus]

Well, we're screwed.

[Keystone Phil]

Oh, yeah, I forgot the third place match.

Brazil vs. Argentina


NewYorkExpress, you have the match ups wrong in the knockout round. If Italy and Brazil win their respective groups, they cannot meet in the Quarter final.

[Јas]

First Impressions...

A1 Brazil v B2 Chile   
C1 Colombia v D2 Italy

E1 Ecuador v F2 Nigeria   
G1 Germany v H2 Russia

B1 Spain v A2 Mexico     
D1 Uruguay v C2 Côte d’Ivoire

F1 Argentina v E2 Switzerland
H1 Belgium v G2 Portugal

QF
Brazil v Italy
Ecuador v Germany
Spain v Uruguay
Argentina v Portugal

SF
Brazil v Germany
Spain v Argentina

F
Brazil v Argentina

[Senator Cris]

[minionofmidas]

I noticed last night that there was a random 9 PM (Eastern) Group Stage match. Glad it's Italy vs. England but that sucks for Italians and English. I'll post further predictions later.

If the recent past is any indicator, there'll be a few matchtime shuffles for the group stages to get a more tv friendly schedule.

[Keystone Phil]

What's wrong? This is good for Italy! Sure, the Quarter finals and on get a lot tougher but that's what we want!

I noticed last night that there was a random 9 PM (Eastern) Group Stage match. Glad it's Italy vs. England but that sucks for Italians and English. I'll post further predictions later.

If the recent past is any indicator, there'll be a few matchtime shuffles for the group stages to get a more tv friendly schedule.

Yeah, that's what I've heard.

[Keystone Phil]

Actually, switching times for Italy's opener will be trickier since that's the opening Saturday. There are four matches that day so the other usual slots are already taken. The only thing that would work would be swapping with Uruguay-Costa Rica. They currently have a late afternoon game. I'm sure their fans wouldn't mind getting the primetime slot. Italy-England would then be on in Europe at a reasonable time of night. 

[Keystone Phil]

Official new match times: England-Italy now at 6 PM here (11 PM in England/midnight in Italy).

USA-Portugal also affected.

http://touch.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=2240950/index.html

[Bacon King]

So what's up with this, guys?

This twitter account was all like "FIFA is corrupt look I'll prove it to you" and then accurately posted all four countries in Argentina's group before the draw even happened

https://twitter.com/FraudeMundial14

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

FIFA is obviously corrupt, but cursory research suggests that this Twitter page is likely bullshit. This page gives an explanation how this was probably done.

[LastVoter]

FIFA is obviously corrupt, but cursory research suggests that this Twitter page could have some insider knowledge but is likely bullshit. This page gives an explanation how this was probably done.

Bigger problem is how European teams make or break every group, there is gotta be a system that distributes them in a better way then right now.

[minionofmidas]

If FIFA were fixing its draws they'd have very different results. Next.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

FIFA is obviously corrupt, but cursory research suggests that this Twitter page is likely bullshit. This page gives an explanation how this was probably done.

Se dice en español 'tuits' por 'tweets'? Lame.

Create your own words people